Travelling Around Brussels

This week I will explain my experiences travelling around Brussels.

Walking

Good old walking gets me where I need to go most of the time. I am fortunate to have a small grocery store right across the street from me, and the Parliament is a convenient 30 minutes away. So, I am never dependent on the public transportation if I decide not to use it. This is fortunate for me, in consideration of strikes and other transportation hindrances.

Sight seeing: The world of Brussels is generally very pallid - at least at this time of year. Gray skies, gray buildings. However, when it does brighten up, the buildings possess a different hue and it is quite a beautiful area. I prefer to walk to my destinations simply so I can admire all the different shops and observe the way of Belgian life.

My walk to the Parliament: I leave early in the morning so I can arrive at 9 a.m. The mist of the rains or snows of the night before permeates the air. A light sprinkle of moisture spreads itself across me, and the sun will shine if I am fortunate. Almost every day, however, I am met with a breeze that brushes my face like the graze of a shard of ice.

I pass a man or woman carrying a bag of groceries, and someone will pedal close to me as they pass by. Sometimes public workers will be found tending to the weeds taking over the cracks in the cobblestone streets. I raise my hand across the sensor that stops the traffic to go across the street to my bus stop.

At the stop, people gather around the small sitting shelter for about 10 minutes before the bus arrives. Everyone generally keeps to themselves, and I often people-watch as I wait for my bus to come. I find an assortment of people - some are Eastern European, others Middle Eastern; Belgian; French; every once in a while I will identify an American. All age groups take the buses.

If I decide to walk, I will pass by small clothing stores; stores that do not open until night; speciality stores, such as for cameras or china; auto shops; pharmacies; bread shops; restaurants. I love passing by the primary school because the kids are so energized and ready to start their day. As at the bus stops, few people I go by smile or raise their eyes - everyone is intent on passing by unnoticed and/or staying lost in their thoughts.

There is this bridge that I pass over, and it is beautiful to look down from it and watch Brussels in its hussle and bussle. My feet are now used to the uneven streets and natural faster walking speed of my fellow pedestrians.

Thirty minutes later, fully awake and adjusted to the temperature, I will turn a corner - Place Luxembourg to my left and the entrance to the Parliament to my right. It is a unique area of Brussels to work. Place Luxembourg gets hopping late at night, especially on Thursdays. During sunny middays the restaurants in the Place open up and place tables outside under canopies. Countless women and men dressed in an array of businesswear traverse across the streets and in and out of the Parliament building. It is at the Parliament where one will find the most wide assortment of people and nationalities.

Bus

As previously mentioned, my walk to the Parliament takes some time, but it is quite nice. However, when the rain meets the Belgium windchill, and I am in a skirt, it's time to use the public transportation.

Tickets: I generally purchase a ticket weekly, since I do not ride the bus all the time. Nevertheless, after working late into the night, it is safer to take the bus. At almost every other stop I can find a ticket machine. I can also purchase a ticket from the bus driver.

Boarding: When boarding the bus, I have two options: I can either scan a pass against a little red box which recognizes the pass, or I can insert my ticket in an orange box which takes my ticket, time stamps it, and then spits it back out at me. I can (and people often do) board the bus without a pass. I choose not to pay the 100 Euro fine I would be obligated to pay if I was caught and use a ticket.

Destinations: There are some buses (such as the 23, 24, and 25) that take you along the same way back and forth. This is not always the case. For example, my bus, the 95, is the only one that goes by my residency and straight to the Parliament.

Metro

In the metro systems I have found some of the most eclectic people of Belgium.

With the system, I can get to several locations somewhat efficiently.

Tickets: The tickets I purchase for the bus can also be used on the metro. There are also ticket boxes at the metro stops.

Boarding: After putting my ticket through the same orange box that is in all of the buses, I can pass through and use the metro system.

Destinations: Because it is a subway system, I often do not see what I am passing. Occasionally it will rise out of the ground at a few stops and I can view the area. Recently I thought it would be fun to take the metro to a random stop and explore the town. I went to a town called Stockel, the pictures of a park below:

During all my explorations and journeys, if I decide to go somewhere new, I always try to establish a route back to where I came before I leave. With winding streets and similar buildings, it is rather easy to get lost in an area of Brussels that one is unaquainted with. The precautions are just as important as the adventure. But the adventures are always worth it.